Friday, June 6, 2014

More Than Treasure by Christy Newton

*Christy will be having Specials and giveaways all through June. Check her author facebook page for details.

Jewels, deception and adventure...

Twenty-two year old, Cammie Adams knows one thing for sure... life isn't fair. She's still a wreck from the tragic loss of her parents seven years ago. Right after she gets her PI license she is not only robbed, but abducted, only to find her life was all a lie. When she finds her mother's diary she discovers she was only a pawn in her mother's dangerous game. Now she must get back what is rightfully hers from the man who murdered her mother.

Hot and mysterious Simon Fisher has really only loved one thing... jewels. This ex-jewel thief, now bodyguard, doesn't even know what hits him when he rescues Cammie as a favor to her father. Simon must protect her, but soon finds where there is trouble, Cammie isn't far behind.

She will not only steal his prized jewel, but his heart.

Heart pounding, Cammie followed Simon through the dark jungle with a loaded gun in her hand. It was amazing how good she could see with the night vision goggles on. They had listened to the chatter on Simon's bug until the men fell asleep. Simon knew exactly where he was going and knew where the diamond was kept. The moon and stars were the only illumination in dark jungle. Wild animals howled in the distance; she hoped they stayed on their side of the jungle.

Simon stopped and turned around. “Are you okay back there?”

“Yes, maybe adventure really is in my blood.”

He smiled. “It’s not much farther. When we get there, we’re going into the tent I told you about. There’ll be a large wooden box. The diamonds are inside. Once I get the lock open, you take the red diamond. It will be the largest one. Take nothing else. Remember we have to get in, get what we came for and get out. If anything happens, you take that diamond and run back to the jeep, no matter what.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay.”

They walked approximately five more yards, then she saw a dying fire. Thanks to the goggles, she spied the tent that Simon had told her about. It was the closest one to the entrance of the mine. It was hard to grip the gun with her clammy hands. Five other tents circled around the fire. Simon motioned for her to follow him around the back of the tents. They arrived at the tent she was to go inside.

Simon gave her a quick peck on the lips and nodded. They went inside. Simon got the box open within a few seconds. She felt like she could not breathe when she looked into the wooden box almost full of clear loose diamonds. Resting on top was the red diamond, by far the largest diamond inside the box.

Adrenaline took over. She picked up the gem and put it into her pocket, careful not to drop the gun. It was surprisingly easy to take something that was not hers. As Simon locked the box back, they heard one of the men get up. Simon grabbed her and they went behind the tent. They squatted down low and peeked around. One of the men had gotten up to pee. They held their breath in the dark, waiting. Cammie was sure the beat of her heart was loud enough for the man to hear.

When the man went back inside his tent, she took a step to follow Simon and accidentally stepped on a large twig. The loud crack sounded through the silent, night air. She froze. They heard someone else come out of their tent. Simon grabbed her hand and pulled her into the mine shaft to hide. The mine was damp with an earthy smell. Tracks with rickety old carts lined the middle of the tunnel. On the opposite side of them were dirt-covered shovels, buckets and round shifters. Damn! They would be on their way back to the huts right now if she had not stepped on that stupid twig.

They pressed their bodies flat to the rock wall as they listened. When the voices got closer, Simon took her hand and pulled her farther into the mine. Her feet sunk down into the deep mud. She felt gritty gravel at the bottom of the sludge.Thank goodness, they were equipped with boots and night vision goggles. They went a little deeper into the mine.

Simon stopped to listen. Men’s voices carried through the tunnel. “Shit! I think we’re going to have to find another way out. We don’t have much time to get out of here. If they check the box and see the red diamond is missing, they’ll search the area. We need them to think one of their own stole the diamond.”

Cammie wanted to cry. Why did she even come? Now they were both in danger. She pressed her lips together to hold in the emotion that threatened to escape.

Simon put his hands on her shoulders. “We’re going to find a way out, okay? I need you to trust me.” She swallowed and nodded. Afraid for both their lives, she followed him with her feet growing heavy from the wet mud that now clung to her boots and pants. The air was thick the farther they went, making it difficult to breathe.

“Look.” Simon pointed to a round opening in the ground to the right of them. It must have been ten feet wide and twenty feet deep. The bottom of the pit looked like gravel. He took out a small flashlight and shined it down into the hole. She looked down at what she had thought was gravel. Among the little rocks was what looked like dirty chunks of ice.

“Diamonds.” Various shapes and sizes mixed in with worthless rocks. He shut the flashlight off and they continued through.

Cammie stepped on something crunchy. She looked down and screamed. Simon put his hand over her mouth. He looked down to see what caused her alarm.

“Is that human?” she asked, looking down at half a rib cage.

He hugged her tight. “I think so. Come on, I’m getting you out of here.” There was a small path to their left. Simon stopped. “I feel air. This way.” The opening was so narrow they had to turn sideways to get through.

Ten minutes later, they were out of the mine somewhere in the jungle. Cammie inhaled a big gulp of the fresh air as Simon took off his backpack. She watched him dig through the supplies with his light.

“Here it is.” He held up a compass. “Do you need a drink?” He handed her the canteen.

“Yes, but I think I need something stronger than water right now.” She took a drink anyway and handed it back to him.

“We’re okay. We need to head east. We should only be about an hour out of our way.”

Cammie nodded and tried to be brave even though she was sweaty, dirty and sick of being courageous. Her pants were damp and her night vision goggles were heavy. The bugs in the jungle were having a feast on her skin. Somehow, she never pictured this part of stealing a diamond. The wild noises of the inhabitants echoed around them. She did not want to shoot an animal, but she would if they decided she looked tasty.

They moved swiftly through the darkness toward the huts. By the time they got back, she was out of breath. She jumped in the jeep, relieved.

Simon gave her a quick kiss. “You were amazing. Now let’s get out of here.”

When Cammie Adams, determined novice PI, gets an urgent call from her ex, she is compelled to take his case. Miles, a luxury hotel owner and an upstanding citizen of Upton Hills, finds one of the maids dead. He turns to Cammie for help to keep his beloved hotel from being tarnished. With her partner and boyfriend, Simon, she takes on a case that might just be their last. Her ex’s hotel is an eighty-year-old building that has secrets of its own.

Can they catch the murderer to save the hotel and her ex’s reputation or will the case take a turn that will leave them lost forever?

Simon looked at her and brushed the wet hair over that was clinging to her face. His hazel eyes stared deep into hers. “When I thought even for one second that I could lose you, I didn’t like it.”

She smiled at him. “You weren’t even worried about that hunk of gold.”

This brought back the fun loving guy she knew. “Thanks for reminding me that he got away with the gold.” He smirked.

“He won’t get away with this. My father will find us and we’ll get it back,” she said, looking out to the never ending water.

Simon scooped up a handful of sand and let the grains slowly slip out of his fingers, reminding her of an hourglass. “I don’t want to alarm you, but how will your father find us? He’s on his honeymoon and doesn’t even know we’re missing.”

“I have faith.” She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. “Besides there’s no one I’d rather be missing on a deserted island with.”

He touched the tip of her nose. “I’ve had some experience with living in the wild. We’ll survive.” She knew he was referring to the month he had spent camping out in the South African jungle. If he could survive in a jungle, an island with white sandy beaches and palm trees should be no problem.

“I know.”

Simon looked around. “We need to gather some wood for a fire before dark.”

She followed him along the edge of the trees to help him find some drift wood to burn. They gathered wood, small dried leaves and sticks, then carried it all back to the beach.

“Are your clothes still wet?” Simon asked.

“A little.”

Simon took off his shirt and pants. “We should take off our clothes and lay them in the sun so they can dry before nightfall.”

She stripped down to her bra and panties. At least if she only had one set of underwear they were high quality. She giggled. “I feel like we’re Adam and Eve.”

Simon smiled. “Does that mean you are going to tempt me with your forbidden fruit?”

She laughed and playfully slapped his arm.

“I’ll get a fire started. If you want you can grab as many of those fallen palm branches as you can. We’ll sleep on those tonight.”

“Okay.” She went over and started gathering the branches. By the time she got as many as she could carry, Simon had started a small fire. She was relieved to see the flame. They would be in total darkness as soon as the sun went down.

“I’m going to get more sticks for a bed. See if you can find any sharp shells and shells that could be used to drink out of.”

She walked barefoot on the hot, gritty sand. At least their clothes would be dry soon. The night air would get chilly. Someone had to find them. A couple of days on a deserted island with Simon would not be so bad, like a vacation really. If it turned into weeks or months that terrified her.

There were lots of broken shells. She took what looked to be the strongest and sharpest. Finding some that could be used as a cup was not as easy. Each time she picked up what she thought was a whole shell, once pulled out of the sand, proved to be another broken one. She continued to look, until her back hurt from bending over so much. Finally, she found two that were good enough to use as small cups. If only they had water or even better, sweet tea.

She looked down at a crab crawling along the sand. “Simon, I think I found some food!”

“Seafood, good job.” He picked up the crab and took it over to the fire. As their food cooked, they put on their dry clothes.

“I found some coconut trees. I need to climb up to get some. We need something to drink until we can find fresh water in the morning.”

She was nervous as she watched him scale the tree. She would not know how to help him or survive if he got hurt. He told her to look out, so she moved over. Three coconuts fell to the ground. Simon climbed back down like a monkey. He beat them open with a sharp rock he had found. As the sun set they ate cooked crab and drank coconut milk. Not bad.

Simon had managed to build them a temporary shelter for the night. Some sticks and leaves would at least keep them from sleeping on the ground. She snuggled up to Simon as the cool breeze blew. He protectively wrapped his arms around her. She felt tired and dirty.

Ready to get back to work after a long leave from their PI business, Simon Fisher and Cammie Adams take the first case that comes their way. Someone is selling company secrets and it’s up to them to find the spy. But when they get their answer, they uncover much more than espionage.

After attending recent family weddings, Simon has become an expert at dodging Cammie’s hints about giving her a certain piece of jewelry he has always secretly feared. Simon doesn't know how long he'll be able to keep his girlfriend satisfied without giving her the one thing she still desires.

As they work their case, will Simon and Cammie discover another fortune or will they see that the greatest treasure of all is the one they already have… love?

“All you found was a designer thong?” Cammie asked, disappointed and a little disturbed that Simon had seen another woman’s skimpy underwear. Not that he had not seen plenty of panties before he had met her—it was no secret that he used to be quite the playboy.

“Yes, I searched his entire apartment. Either Ted’s a player or in a relationship with a rich woman who can’t keep track of her panties.” Simon smirked.

“We’ll have to keep closer tabs on Marcy and Paxton. Maybe what the other employees suspect is true.”

Cammie filled Leo’s cat dish with more dry food. His soft fur rubbed against her as he weaved in and out of her legs. Leo had warmed up to them. Even though he still had a wild streak, he was affectionate. Cammie reached down to pet his butterscotch colored head. He purred a thank you as his tail wrapped around her leg.

Standing behind her, Simon placed his hands on her hips and pressed his body into hers.

“We need to take advantage of having the house to ourselves.”

She felt the warmth spread through her body until her lower half tingled, begging to be touched. No matter how many times they had made love, every time excited her just as much as the first. She turned to look into his seductive, hazel eyes. He lifted her up on the counter and she wrapped her legs around him as he removed her shirt.

They had moved from the kitchen to the shower, where Simon got one of his hunches about the case. His ideas could come at bizarre times. He had decided they needed to go check out Wentworth’s competitor. Maybe they could save some time if they were to find a connection with one of the employees in the Douglas building and the best time to break in would be in the middle of the night. Cammie had grabbed a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans in a rush to check out Simon’s hunch. Instead of spooning in bed, they were on their way to Douglas advertising.

Simon pulled the SUV into the dark parking lot. Douglas Advertising was not as big as Wentworth, but close to it. He parked in the back row of the lot where the security camera could not reach. Cammie tucked her long hair up into a black beret.

Simon disarmed the alarm system with an ease that still amazed her. Once inside the building, Cammie walked over to the receptionist desk. She shined her flashlight on the appointment book sitting on the desktop. Something had to lead them to their spy. She flipped through the pages with her gloved finger. Her heart raced when she saw Marcy Webber’s name. Marcy’s appointment had been a job interview with Douglas. Compelling, but that did not necessarily prove her to be the spy. Cammie took a digital image of the page. Simon came up behind her and touched her shoulder.

“Did you find anything in Douglas’ office?” she asked, hopeful.

“I don’t know. There was a name written on a piece of stationery that seemed out of place.” Simon showed her the rose colored paper. A letter D was embossed in gold. The only thing that was written was the name Daisy in black ink.

She held the thick paper between her fingers. “It looks pretty and expensive. Where was it?”

Simon motioned her back to the office he had been inside. He opened the top drawer of Douglas’ desk. “It was hidden under the organizer.” He carefully put the stationery back where he had found it.

“It is interesting, but may not have anything to do with our case. She could just be his mistress.”

Simon nodded. “Probably. Did you find anything?”

Cammie showed him the image she had taken. “Marcy’s appointment here was a job interview. It was written in the receptionist’s appointment book.”

Simon turned his head to the file cabinet. “Let’s check to see if Marcy’s on their payroll.”

Cammie nodded. After searching all the employee files, Marcy was looking less like a suspect. They did not come across Paxton, Jason, Miles or Ted’s names either.

“I’m not sure what to make of this,” Cammie said, as she followed Simon back outside to arm the alarm system.

“Things are always more complicated than anticipated, which is what makes this job so fun.”

Christy Newton is a hopeless romantic and writes many genres of romance. She just might be the only author out there that doesn’t drink caffeine, but dark chocolate is her must have. She falls in love with each of her heroes and hopes you will too!